White House: Obama believes Augusta National should admit women

President Obama believes the storied Augusta National Golf Club, which plays host to the annual Masters Tournament, should admit women to the club.

When asked by a reporter during Thursday's White House briefing whether the all-male golf club should admit women, White House press secretary Jay Carney Carney said, "Well the president's answer to this question is yes. He believes, his personal opinion is that women should be admitted."

"I happened to have a discussion with him about this, so I know that that's his answer," Carney added. "It's obviously up to the club to decide. But his personal opinion is that women should be admitted to the club."

Augusta National's policy of only admitting men has come under fire recently because a Masters sponsor, IBM, now has a woman at the helm of the company. The last four CEOs of that company were invited to don the iconic green jacket and become members.

NBC's Lisa Myers reported that Ginni Rometty, the current IBM CEO, will host guests at the club this week but it is unclear whether she'll be offered a membership.